Perseverance
by LilyPhantasm
Summary: What if it wasn't just Merle and Daryl out there on their own before meeting Shane's group? This is the story of survival if Daryl and Merle had a bigger group of life-long friends, including their younger sister Jessie(OC) and her best friend Sydney(OC), by their side. There will be an eventual romance between Daryl and Sydney(OC). Rating is for lots of Dixon like language.
1. Chapter 1

Perseverance: Fuel to the Fire

_7 hours after the first news broadcast reporting sightings of 100s people acting strangely New York City, NY._

_12 hours before walkers appear in Gainesville, GA._

"Can you believe that?" Chris says pointing the top of his dark beer bottle at the TV screen from an old brown recliner. "One of those damn reporters said some crap about the cause might be drug related. Psh! They're found a whole family…like that. You're telling me they were are smokin' crack together? Give me a break!"

Merle lets out a hard grunt of a laugh. He finishes the last drop in his beer bottle and sets it down next to the other two empty bottles decorating the coffee table in front of him. His focus never leaves the cheap tube TV that rests on top of another prehistoric wood panel television from his childhood.

It's nearly summer here in Gainesville, GA and all the windows are open inside the trailer in a crowded mobile park. The place is nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, only a 5 minute walk to Lake Lanier. The place is beautiful and resourceful; the lake provides many of the meals that end up on the table in this three bedroom double wide trailer. Daryl bought this place for $1000 from a widowed elderly women he had cut the grass for his entire life. Though the place was a steal, the home has seen better days. Surely it was once a nice place to live, maybe 30 years earlier. Now the walls are stained yellow with tobacco residue, the light blue carpet is stained in most places, the ceiling leaking every rainfall and the clutter of their possessions make the place seem smaller than it really is.

Chris stares at Merle for a long moment, waiting to see if his best friend's brother has anything to say. He sees that Merle is lost in his thoughts; Chris sighs and reclines further back in the old stained chair. His auburn hair falling into his grey-blue eyes, he brushes it away with a quick push of his freckled hand. He's frustrated, annoyed, and sick to death with worry; he can't describe all that he's feeling into words. His eyes move away from the TV and down to his phone. Nothing. When is that girl going to call?

_:Buzz:_

_Aunt Judy: Have you heard from Sydney? Her phone keeps going straight to voicemail._

_Chris: No, ma'am. _

_Aunt Judy: I'm worried._

_Chris: Me too._

Chris closes his flip phone and diverts his attention back to the TV screen. If she doesn't call or get here in 30 minutes, he's going out to look for her.

Moments later Merle's younger sister Jessie enters through the loud metal front door typing anyway intensely on her cell phone with a cigarette between her thin lips. Merle glares bitterly at her for seemingly no reason and he eyes follow her as she crosses the room. Her eyes never leave the phone in her hands as she sits down on the opposite side of couch from her brother. She's wearing her long dish water blond hair in a messy bun resting high on her head. She has a porcelain doll-like perfectness to her face, beautiful if you'd ask anyone; but she's wearing too much black eyeliner for her pale complexion and her purple jumpsuit is too tight for her size 10, pear shape frame. She takes the cigarette out of her mouth and snuffs it out feverishly in the ash tray on the end table next to her. She replaces the void against her lips with the side of her thumb as she chews nervously on a hangnail.

Chris watches Jessie, waiting for her to say what's bothering her though he knows exactly why she's acting this way. Sydney hasn't arrived home for summer break from NYU. She should have been home over an hour ago.

Jessie catches him staring at her and for a few seconds, she mirrors his gaze, both waiting for the other to answer the burning question on their minds. With a huff of frustration, Jessie breaks the stare down with Chris, puts her feet up on the couch, hugging her knees tight to her chest. She rests her head on top of both knees and keeps this way for a while before finally erupting.

"Chris, why won't Sydney answer the damn phone?" Jessie yells breaking the silence as she looks to Chris for an answer. "She's never driven this far by herself, ya know! She always answers the phone! There's something wrong, I know it."

"What the hell are you talking about girl?" Merle looks at his sister angered by her outburst and looks back at Chris "When was the last time you heard from your sister?"

"She called when she was 100 miles away, said she'd call when she passed another 50 miles." He answered, barely looking up from the phone in his palm.

"That was over three hours ago! What if she's broken down somewhere? Oh god what if one of those things got her?" Jessie stops herself before she says another frightening word.

"Don't be so stupid. She would CALL! Also, those things are in **New York**," Merle says raises his eye brow to Jessie "She's driving away from there, remember dumbass?"

Jessie glares at the brother she barely knows. He was in and out of her life throughout most of her childhood. If he wasn't incarcerated, he was always away from home doing who knows what with his druggie friends. Always letting Daryl down and leaving the two of them to live alone with their abusive father. Now he constantly talks to her like she's an ignorant child and demands respect from her like it's his God-given right. She already had her father treat her without respect and constantly beating her up emotionally…physically. She's not about let another man do the same without putting up a fight. The only man she respects 100% is hardworking Daryl, not this stranger.

"Merle, don't talk to me like I'm stupid." She says standing up facing in Merle's direction. She's trying hard to hide the pure hatred in her voice. Her eldest brother is the only one in this world that can conjure up this type of intense anger out of her. "I know she's not in New York anymore, but if something is making these people sick, it could be spreading. If it's not drugs, it could be a virus. Viruses spread quickly and it could be everywhere in a matter of days! Maybe even hours…"

"Oh you're some smart shit scientist now." Merle says rising up to face her with barely a foot between them. He smiles with an evil smirk and laughs. "Hey Chris! We both have fucking geniuses in our family! Can this one go to some fancy school and go away too? I hope so! Oh wait, you're still working on that GED aren't 'cha, Jessie?"

Merle turns his back walking away from Jessie still laughing loudly, patting Chris hard on the shoulder when he passes him still sitting in the recliner as he makes his way to the kitchen. He opens the refrigerator door and pops open his fourth beer of the afternoon.

Chris sits with his eyes glued to his phone, trying hard not to meet Jessie's eyes. He knows her eyes are burning into him, begging him to stand up for her. But, he won't. He cares about Jessie, he _really_ does. But Merle scares the hell out of him.

Seeing that Chris is unwilling to defend her only adds fuel to the fire already burning within her. What a pathetic coward, she thinks to herself.

Jessie stomps her way to the kitchen towards Merle. This is about to erupt into yet another one of their shouting matches when her ringtone, The Pixies – "Hey", interrupts the mood from across the room. Her heart skips a beat and she rushes back to the couch where she left her phone.

A disappointed sigh escapes from behind her teeth. It's Daryl calling from his cell phone.

She answers.

"Hey Daryl, what's up? Are you getting off work early?"

"Jessie! It's Sydney!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's notes: As you can see, this story has the potential of being pretty long. Character developement is so important to me. There will be action very soon! I promise. I have so many plans for upcoming chapters! Hold on to your hats this will be a long but very enjoyable ride. :)**

* * *

Perseverance: Live Forever

As the road signs and the buildings grow more and more familiar, Sydney realizes she's almost home. The windows are rolled down, the wind tossing Sydney's shoulder length strawberry blond hair around her heart shaped ivory freckled face. Living in New York City has been a dream come true, but there's something about returning to Shady Oaks mobile home park that gives her a feeling of home that nowhere else could replace. It's a Sunday and the streets are nearly deserted; day of rest for those religious types, which consists of mostly everyone in this small town. She flips through the radio stations and finally finds one of her favorite songs playing, Oasis "Live Forever". She screams out loud in excitement and sings along at the top of her lungs. She drums on the steering wheel.

"_You and I are going to live forever!"_

"HEY!"

Someone in left lane driving the same speed screams at her. Sydney turns to see a man waving his arms at her from the driver's seat of his red pickup truck.

"PULL OVER!" The man says with and frantic look on his face.

Sydney wants to drive faster to get away from this crazy man. Why does he want her to pull over? But the sudden smell of smoke directs her attention to the rear view mirror. It becomes apparent that the back of her car is smoking on the driver's side.

She pulls over immediately and takes the key out of the ignition. The car continues to produce a plethora smoke. She makes a sudden realization that the smoke is on the same side as the gas tank.

SHIT.

The stranger that was screaming in the car has now parked ahead of her and is running to her, screaming for her to get away from the vehicle. But if this thing is about to turn into an inferno, she has to get the important things out of her car. She HAS to get the books out of her backseat at least. Forget everything else in the trunk of the car. She needs that backpack with the books!

Sydney slips her cell phone into her back pocket, gets out of the car and opens the rear driver's side door. Grabs the black, red trimmed backpack and throws it on to her shoulders. She's about to make a run for it, but she sees the long brown duffle bag, about three feet in length, sitting on the floor board of the passenger's side. The strings of her heart pull, she_ needs_ that bag too. She would have to crawl inside the car to get it or go around. She quickly decides that crawling inside would be faster, so she ducks her head inside just barely before she feels someone tugs at her arm. The man has finally reached her and is trying to pull her from the car.

"WAIT! I have to get one last thing!"

"This car is catching fire under your GAS TANK!" still pulling on her arm, he goes to grab her opposite shoulder with his other hand. "Whatever it is, forget it!"

Easy for you to say, she thinks to herself.

She wiggled out of his grasp and dived into the car. The car is full of smoke now. That man has wasted precious time. She could have been running away right now from this car with the backpack and duffle bag without his interference. She grabs the bag and crawls backwards out of the car.

Running away from the car she sees the man who was trying to help her waiting cross the street. She can't blame him for retreating, who would risk their life for a crazy girl who thinks more of her possessions than her own life. She runs towards the stranger to join him in safety.

She makes in across the street, she drops cargo onto the dry brown grass. She's still panting and she can feel the adrenaline coursing through her veins. Trying to catch her breath she bends over holding her knees, staring at the car now partly devoured by smoke.

The car finally ignites in an anticlimactic blaze concentrating mostly in the trunk. "Well good thing I brought all my clothes with me for summer break." She jokes to herself, hanging her head, still panting.

"Are you alright?" The man asks putting his hand on her back of her shoulder.

"Yeah. I'm okay. Thank you. Thank you for saying something. My name is Sydney." She reaches out to shake his hand.

He grabs her hand out stretched hand. "I'm David. You ran over a blanket or something back there and I guess it got stuck under your wheel. Sydney, do you have a phone to call someone?"

Sydney reaches around to the back pocket only to feel it empty. She pats frantically with the other hand to find her other back pocket empty. Shit. Shit. Shit. Where is it?

She finally notices where it is. Broken, laying there on the street next to her car, smashed into pieces. It must have fallen out of her pocket when she was crawling out of the car. She doesn't bother trying to go get it. She knows the thing is finished. She sighs.

"My day just keeps getting better by the minute. Can I borrow your cell, David?"

"Erm, I don't have one of those things."

She laughs and puts her hand on top of her forehead. Spins around to get an idea of where she is. After a few moments, a smile appears on her face once she realizes where she is. She turns to look at the car once more. The flames have already started to die down. She only had barely a 1/8th of a tank of gas left. Just enough to get her home, just enough to burn nearly all her belongings. The flame has phased into a smolder.

"I could take you to the police station just down the street here. Maybe get this thing towed or something."

"David thanks a lot. But I know someone who works just a 5 minute walk from here. I think I'll just go there and figure out what to do. Thanks for giving me the heads up. You kind of saved my life today!" She says with a laugh as comes to terms with the recent happenings.

"My pleasure, sweetheart. Are you sure you don't need a lift?"

"No, really I'm fine. Walking there will give me time process all this."

The two of them say goodbye, but not without Sydney giving David a thankful hug. She turns and heads away from the road taking a shortcut to Daryl's workplace. after taking about twenty or so steps, she turns to see David still watching her, she waves and he waves back. He still watches her.

"Okay dude. You can stop watching me now..." She said under her breath as to continued on towards the Dirtstar Bar and Lounge.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's notes: In this chapter I wanted to introduce Daryl. I've purposely given him soft-ish and protective nature that he'll also have with Jessie. With his upcoming interactions with Chris and Merle, you'll find him being the "classic" Daryl Dixon. I've been getting a lot of feedback about Jessie. Glad to hear there are readers who really enjoy the idea of the Dixon brothers having a younger sister! You will be hearing more from her in the upcoming chapters. I really appreciate all the feedback I'm receiving! I'm so happy that many of you are enjoying this story. I really enjoy imagining it for you. :) **

* * *

Perseverance: City Girl

Opening the door to the dimly lit bar makes the two occupants narrow their eyes and turn away. If the blinding light didn't make your entrance known, the slight ring of the bell hanging from the edge of the door would. Sydney drops her bags on the floor next to the enterance.

"Hey city girl!" says a familiar voice coming left corner of the bar where she knows the pool tables are.

Sydney's eyes haven't adjusted to the drastic change of light; the brightly colored spots dance in her eyes, obstructing her vision. She turns her body towards the voice; she rubs her eyes hard covering them completely.

"You know Gary, it wouldn't kill you to turn on a few more lights in this place." She says with a hint of laughter in her voice. "I can't see a thing!"

"Oh, give it a minute kiddo" He says playfully

"Is Daryl working today?"

"Well, I wouldn't call it working on a day like this..." he answers back.

Sydney uncovers her eyes that have now adapted, finding Daryl leaning with one hand on the pool table and a pool cue in the other. He's staring at her with his narrowed blue eyes in such a way that she's unsure if he's happy to see her, or wanting to rip her head right off her shoulders. She notices that he's let his dirty blond hair grow out longer than she's ever seen it. The dim light from the lamp above the table casts shadows over his face. This makes Sydney realize that he's aged quite a lot and rather quickly over the last few years, not the young man she once knew. Sydney quickly breaks the eye contact with Daryl, feeling that she may have stared at him for a little too long.

Gary, whose owner of the bar, is taking his turn leaning over the pool table.

She walks towards the pool table and stops at the opposite end, putting both hands on the table and leaning forward slightly.

"Sure, looks like you two are working hard." She says sarcastically with a grin.

"It's Sunday dear, slowest day of the week."

Sydney looks around to find the bar empty besides the three of them. She directs her attention back to the other two, she finds Daryl's eyes haven't left her and the look on his face hasn't changed.

"Jees, Daryl! What?!" She says with her arms now crossed in frustration. "You haven't seen me for months and now you're just going to stare at me like your mad. What's with you? At least say 'Hi' or something!"

His trademark smirk breaks from his mouth. "Hi. And no shit, I'm happy to see you. But why are you here? Chris will be pissed to know you stopped at a bar before coming home."

Sydney laughs and bites the side of her thumb; she looks down at the bar's wood flooring. "Well, I'm old enough to drink now. So who cares what he thinks."

"Syd. I know you're not here to drink. What the hell are you doing here?" Daryl says rolling his eyes, getting impatient.

"The trunk of my car kind of…caught on fire." She ended the last word "fire" in a way that made it sound more like a question than an answer. She doesn't look at them.

The two burst into laughter. The reaction startles her, this isn't the reaction she was expecting. She looks at them both, she's confused.

"Yer kidding, right?" Gary bellows between his laughter.

"No! I'm serious! It caught fire. This guy pulled me over and said I ran over a blanket or something. It wasn't a big fire though, just enough to burn all the crap I had in my trunk." She's feeling a bit annoyed at their laughter. The situation wasn't funny at all.

Daryl leans the pool stick against the wall; he walks to her putting his large hand on top of her head, shaking her head and hair about roughly. She slaps his hand away playfully and fixes her hair.

"You alright?" He asks genuinely.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Syd, you have the worst damn luck with cars. You know that?" He says shaking his head as he smiles down at her; Sydney only being 5'1, Daryl towers over her at 5'10.

What he said is true. Her car once rolled down hill into a ditch after the brakes seemingly decided to stop working after parking the car at the local library for a study session. It's not only the car; it's her operation of it. Many mailboxes at Shady Oaks have felt the wrath of her red 1994 Chevy Cavalier.

"Can I use a phone?" She asks him, clearly irritated even though a smile breaks from the side of her lips.

"Where's yours at?"

"It kind of broke. It fell out my pocket when I was grabbing stuff out of the car." Sydney says looking up at him, there's only about a foot or so between the two of them.

"Well you've had one hell of a day, huh? We close up here in about 15 minutes, I can take you home then." Daryl reaches into his pocket and casually gives her the phone with one hand. "You should call Jessie first. You know how she is."

"Yeah. Thanks, Daryl." She takes the phone from him his grasp.

He turns back to finish his game with Gary.

Sydney has a seat in a one of the booths next to the pool table. She sits with her feet up on the seat across the table from her.

"_Jessie! It's Sydney!"_

"_What the…Why are to calling from Daryl's phone?!"_

"_My car had some…erm…issues not too far from the bar. So, I just walked here to see if Daryl was working."_

"_Why couldn't you use your phone?"_

"_Ugh! It's a really long story, Jess. I'll explain everything when I get home. Daryl said he would bring me home. He gets off in about 15 minutes."_

"_Alright. He takes he bike to work now, just so you know."_

"_Shit."_

* * *

"Was that Sydney?" Chris says standing up out of the recliner, stretching his arms out high above his head.

"Clearly." Jessie says coldly, still upset with Chris for not standing up for her against Merle. "Said she had car trouble and walked to the bar, they'll be home in about 20 minutes or so."

"Good. I was getting really worried. Did she explain why she didn't call until now?"

"Not really, said she would explain when she got here."

"She's not going to like getting on that Harley." Chris says laughing at the thought.

Jessie flashes a smile to Chris that she can't help. They both know how Sydney is, she's not a risk taker by anyone's standards. Jessie couldn't even get her to ride a rollercoaster at Six Flags.

"I haven't seen her since she was about 16. Did she finally grow some tits?" Merle yells from the kitchen.

Jessie's smile fades quickly into disgusted expression; she stomps to her bedroom down the hall, going inside and slamming her door so hard that it the sound echoes throughout the trailer.

Merle shrugs. "What's her problem?" he asks Chris seemingly oblivious, taking another sip of his beer.

Chris feels his face ignite with red-hot with anger.

* * *

"It just doesn't make sense to drive a motorcycle." She says while nervously playing with the gravel beneath her feet. "I mean, the probability of getting injured is so much greater than being in a car."

"That's funny coming from someone who just had their car catch fire. Most people don't ride them for the safety features." He says this while handing over his only helmet to her.

She takes the helmet and pulls it over her head, adjusting the straps to fit. "What about you?"

"Like I wear the damn thing anyways?"

He notices her hands are shaking while trying to secure the helmet's clip under her chin. With a sigh, he helps her fasten it. He knows that this frighten the hell out of her.

"Here, wear this too." He pulls off his leather jacket and helps her slip into it.

The sleeves hang about 4 inches off the tips of her fingers and the length of the jacket goes down to almost her mid-thigh, the jacket devours her tiny frame. He zips up the front, looks down at her and smirks. He grabs her brown duffle bag from the floor and puts it into the storage compartment hanging from the side of the back wheel, so that it sticks out just a bit.

"I look really stupid, don't I?" She asks tucking a stray hair behind her ear and as she adjusts her backpack over her shoulders.

"Yep." He says as he straddles the Harley and takes a seat. He gets it started with that loud signature sound.

Sydney stands there watching as he revs the engine, as if he's taunting her. He looks back seeing that color of her normally pink cheeks have faded into a near solid white, her eyes wide with worry.

He reaches out his hand to her.

"Come on, girl. Trust me. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you."

Her shaking hand grabs a hold of his as she jumps on the bike behind Daryl. His hand directs hers to hold on to him, she responds by wrapping her arms tightly around his chest.

"Ready?"

"Nope!" She answers closing her eyes knowing that no matter what she said, they were going if she was ready or not.

They move forward loudly as she buries her face into his back.

After what seemed like forever, but in reality less than a minute, she lifts her head to see where they are and recognizes that they are coming up on the car she left behind. Daryl slows down the bike to a crawl as they drive by Sydney's abandoned car.

"We'll get something done about this tomorrow morning" He yells over the engine.

There's a loud crunch that comes from beneath the tire that makes Sydney gasp. She looks down quickly to see that ironically, Daryl has run over the remnants of her once reliable cell phone.

She laughs hysterically.


	4. Chapter 4

They arrive at Aunt Judy's light blue and white trimmed trailer in lot #36 where the rose bushes in the small neatly kept front yard burst with beautiful blooms of yellow and pink. Sydney's aunt takes pride in her home and it truly shows when you compare it to the surrounding residences. You can say the place a diamond in the rough at Shady Oaks, where the neighboring trailers look like nothing more that large rusty tin cans with duct tape repaired windows and yards full of what seems like endless junk.

Chris and Sydney have called this home for 20 years now. When Chris was 15 and Sydney was only a year old, their parents died together tragically in a car accident involving a drunk driver. With no other family members able to take the two in, the brother and sister moved from Mobile, Alabama to here with their aunt in Georgia. Aunt Judy didn't think twice about taking the two of them in. Even though she had to get a second job at the local grocery store just to keep food on the table, it was clear that she enjoyed taking care of the two. Perhaps she had been lonely long enough after losing her husband a few years earlier.

Once the bike stops moving Sydney jumps off immediately, taking off the helmet as Daryl pushes the kick stand down and balances the bike.

"Surprise chicken shit. You lived."

"Yeah," She says dropping her backpack on the driveway and zipping off the black leather jacket as Daryl gets off the now silent Harley. "But you won't catch me doing that ever again."

"You could've walked, ya' know." He says taking the jacket from her hands and laying it on the seat of the bike while he grabs her duffel bag from the storage compartment.

"What's in this thing anyway?" Daryl asks shaking the duffel bag roughly.

"Be careful! It's a late birthday gift for Chris" she says smiling over her shoulder at Daryl. "You're going to be jealous."

"Whatever. What's in the backpack?"

"Books." She answers a little put off by his sudden shortness with her.

"What fucking retard has all their stuff catch on fire and saves books?"

"Wow, thanks for that. They're for your sister, asshole. I'm going to help her get her GED this summer." She says yanking the duffel bag from Daryl's hands obviously annoyed by his comment.

Sydney often sees two sides of Daryl, someone who can be so loving and protective, like another brother to her. But then there are times when he's blatantly ignorant, hot-tempered and hurtful.

Sydney turns away from him and hurries towards the front door. Daryl follows close behind her. She reaches the first step leading to the door when Daryl forcefully spins her around to face him. The added height given to her by the step makes her almost eye level with Daryl.

For a moment, Daryl notices the streaks of yellow in her dark blue eyes.

"Didn't mean to piss you off, okay?" He moves his hand from her shoulder to where his palm cups her neck with his thumb slightly rubbing the side of her cheek.

"Okay." She says blinking quickly. She's perplexed by the shockwave of electricity going rapidly up her spine from his touch. She feels the apples of the cheeks beginning to glow red. "It's…uh. It's fine. Whatever."

Daryl removes his hand from her face realizing how intimate the gesture was. He takes the duffel bag from her hand and throws it over his shoulder.

"Well?" he says motioning with his hands for Sydney continue moving up the stairs.

She recognizes that she's been staring at him and without saying another word she turns around, running up the last four steps to the front door with Daryl following close behind.

Without knocking they enter the home to find Judy and Chris sitting at the dining room table with both of their backs turned away from them, their attention fixated.

"I'm home!" Sydney says loudly as she walks over to the table. "You'll not believe…"

Suddenly, words escape her when he sees what's going on at the table.

"Got her home safe."

"Safe isn't exactly the word I would use when driving my niece around on that death trap, Daryl." Judy says unlike herself. She sounds so exhausted.

Judy has one arm propped on the table holding her forehead in her hand and the other arm Chris is carefully tending to. He's holding her arm straight with one hand and the other he's using scissors to cut the sleeve of her sweater off.

Sydney has a seat next to her aunt. Judy looks up at her with a soft smile. "I'm so glad you're home. I've missed you." She says embracing Sydney with her free arm, bringing her close for a long hug.

Daryl comes closer, standing by Chris to get a better look.

"That guy really bit into you something terrible. Took some flesh too." Chris says after the arm is free from the sleeve revealing the raw, swollen red bite mark.

"Bit?" Daryl asks wrinkling his face in disgust as he leans in with Chris to inspect the injury. "Who the fuck would bite you?"

"Daryl, don't use that language in my house." Judy says firmly.

Daryl clears his throat. "Sorry."

Judy has never particularly liked the Dixon's or her niece and nephew's association with them. But she's learned to tolerate their constant presence.

"What happen?" Sydney asks softly.

"I was leaving the grocery store after my shift and some homeless man, clearly high on meth or something, grabs my arm and takes a bite out of me." She says with every word getting more and more tired. "I shook him off me just long enough to run to my car. Crazy thing was, he was still running after my car while I drove away."

Sydney watches as a bead of sweat drips down her aunt's brow.

"Do you want to go to the ER?" Sydney asks already knowing the answer.

"You know how much I hate hospitals. After Richey died, I just can't go into one unless I absolutely have to. I think I'll be fine."

Sydney puts her hand to Judy's forehead; she's running a mild fever.

"If your fever gets worse, will you please let me take you to the hospital?" Sydney begs. "Please."

"Okay. Okay. Only if my fever gets worse" Judy asks reluctantly. "But for now, I want lay down for a bit. Today has been a whirlwind of a day."

Sydney laughs a nervous laugh. "You're telling me."

"This should do it for now. I don't think you'll need stitches." Chris says inspecting his work.

As Sydney and Judy were talking, Chris meticulously wrapped the injured arm with a clean bandage. Chris has trained to be an Emergency Medical Technician and was on his way to a job for the City of Gainesville before he had a little too much to drink celebrating his graduation with Daryl at the Dirtstar. He received a DWI that night; once you have a felony on your record, an EMT can't even apply for a job until 10 years after the crime. This has put Chris' life in somewhat of a stalemate, he's now in year 9 of his wait with only a few more months to go. He's been studying what he can to refresh for his exams.

"Beautiful, Chris." Judy says as she tries to stand up, only to fail and withdraw back into the chair.

Sydney helps her to her feet and walks with her down the hall to the bedroom.

Chris and Daryl walk out the door for a smoke. As they step outside they both look above. It's 6 o'clock and the sun is beginning to set painting the sky with hues of purple, orange and pink.

Jessie is walking up the driveway still in her purple jumpsuit wearing dirty white flip-flops.

"Where's Syd?" She ask approaching her brother and Chris.

"She's inside helping Judy get into bed. Judy was attacked by some nut job, she's not feeling well." Chris answers with a cigarette between his lips. He flicks on the lighter, with one hand cupping the flame he ignites the tip of the thin white stick, breathing in heavily.

"Shit. Can this day get any worse?" Jessie says leaving them as she hurries up the stairs. She disappears into the doorway, slamming the door behind her.

"I doubt it" Daryl answers lighting a cigarette of his own.

They both stand there quietly. Daryl sees that his best friend is lost in his thoughts, he doesn't want to interrupt him or leave him standing there alone. So they just stand their together smoking their cigarettes in silence.

The sound of footsteps behind them goes unnoticed.

"I want to find that mother fucker and beat the living shit on of him" Chris says suddenly. "I bet he's still in the grocery store parking lot."

"Let's go then."


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello Readers! First of all I would like to thank the many people who followed and read this story in my absence. You guys are the reason I'm continuing! Why was I gone? Over the summer, my bestfriend (aka my "Jesse") passed away after losing her battle with bone cancer. :( It's been really rough emotionally since then, but I'm finally ready to pick this story back up. Thank you for your patience followers.**

* * *

The sound of gravel under unsteady feet goes unnoticed as Chris and Daryl finish their cigarettes. They quickly climb into Chris' old baby blue Chevy truck and are off on their mission for revenge.

Sydney gets up from the corner of the bed where she watched her Aunt slowly drift off to sleep. She fixes the covers and moves towards the door. Before shutting the door she hears Judy groan softly, she stays in the doorway until she hears familiar footsteps entering the trailer.

"Sydney!" Jessie yells from the living room.

Sydney shuts the bedroom door and walks into the living room greeting her friend.

"Sydney! Are you home?"

"Shh! Can you tone it down a bit? Judy's sleeping." Sydney barks in a harsh tone at Jessie.

"Sorry." She looks down then back at her best friend worried that she's already managed to piss her off.

Sydney cracks a smile and hugs Jessie. "I've missed you!"

"I've missed you! You have no fucking idea! This town is boring without you here." Jessie says relieved and excited at the same time. "Is Judy alright?"

Sydney sighs. "Someone attacked her at work. Fucking bit her! Can you believe it?" She starts to rub the side of her neck in worry. "I want her to go to the hospital. But you know how she is."

"That's shitty, what the hell is wrong with people. I'm glad you're okay. We were all worried. What happened anyway?"

"Long story short, my car caught fire and my phone broke in the process of saving your GED study guides and Chris' birthday gift from the fire."

Jessie laughs. "This shit only happens to you, you know that right?"

"Yeah, whatever. You're welcome." Sydney pushes her friend playfully in the shoulder.

"You want to see what I got Chris?" Sydney barely able to contain her excitement. She grabs the bag from the front door, pulls out a long rectangle shaped box. Jesse recognizes it immediately.

"No way! He's going to flip his shit! He's wanted a crossbow for ages!" Jessie says taking the box from Sydney's hands while having a seat on the couch. "Wow, you got him a real nice one too!"

"I know! He'll love it!" Sydney says bouncing in excitement as she hops on the couch next to Jessie. "Now Daryl has to teach him how to use the thing."

"I doubt it. Daryl's going to be pissed that Chris has a nicer bow than his own." Jessie laughs at the thought of her brother's jealously.

"You think he'll be nice if I ask him?"

Jessie leans her head against the cushions of the couch smiling as she rolls her eyes, "I think he'll do anything if you ask him."

Sydney blushes as Jesse begins to laugh.

"What's that suppose to mean?" The pitch of Sydney's voice slightly raised. She stares back at her friend holding back laughter until she finally starts laughing too. "You're crazy, Jessie. He's like my brother."

_THUD_

The girls gasp as a loud noise against the metal door of the trailer ends their laughter abruptly. They both stare at the door as thud after thud gets louder and louder. The sound of something, growling behind the door sends shock waves of fear up their spines. This doesn't sound like any animal they've heard before.

"What the fuck is that?!" Jessie screams. She gets up and walks towards the door to look out the small square window.

Sydney is unable to move, frozen in fear. They both scream as a wet hand slams against the small glass window just as Jessie approaches. The hand leaves streaks on the glass as it slides out of sight.


	6. Chapter 6

Thank you to all my readers for your continued support! I promise, I have not abandoned this story. :) I will make an effort to get another chapter finished and posted within a few days. I have great plans for the next few chapters that I just can't wait to write! :D

* * *

The truck rumbles loudly to a stop in front of the shopping plaza. Chris pulls the keys from the ignition leaving the highlights on, illuminating the dimly lit parking lot. He glares out the front window scanning the area for his aunt's attacker.

"I don't see shit, man" Daryl says opening the door and stepping outside. "Not a damn soul out here."

Chris' breath remains heavy and quick with anger. He punches the steering wheel repeatedly making the horn echo throughout the parking lot.

Daryl lowers himself back into the passenger seat closing the door with a loud slam. He sinks down into the truck's cushion, sighing as he crosses his arms over his chest.

"Let's go back. What would beating the shit out of this guy do anyway? You don't need this bullshit fucking up…"

"Daryl, I get it." Chris cuts Daryl off mild sentence "I just wanted to find the guy and…"

"Talk about your feelings? No. You want to fuck this prick up. And I'm telling you, it's not worth it."

Chris stares at Daryl at first with anger towards him but the feeling quickly evolves into pure frustration with himself. He sighs looking down away from his friend. He knows his best friend is right and only looking out for him.

"Let's just get back before the girls start wonder where we are."

Chris starts the engine that flickers the headlights of the old truck, making them shine brighter than before. Just as he starts to put the truck into first gear, he looks up and sees the silhouettes of two people in the middle of the lot, slowly limping their way towards the truck.

"Do you see that?"

Daryl looks up from inspecting the hangnail on his thumb. He moves his head closer to the front window getting a better look.

"What the hell?"

Daryl rolls down his window halfway and peaks his head out to get a better look.

"Hey! Are you two okay? You need help or somethin'?" Daryl yells to the wounded strangers.

The approaching two are about fifty feet away from the front of the truck with their yellow eyes, wet skin and hungry faces growling now in clear view. Their pace to the vehicle quickens at the sight of the two inside the truck.

Chris remembers the description of the poor folks on the news earlier today, he quickly realizes these people sick like the ones in New York.

"Daryl. Roll your damn window up. We're leaving."

"Are these people high as fuck or what?"

"Daryl roll the window up NOW!"

Chris puts the truck into first gear and presses on the gas. The truck doesn't move, instead there's the sound of a grinding transmission.

"Are you kidding me?!" Chris grunts as he pulls down on the gear shift.

He tries again and the car jerks forward but the grinding noise bellows from the truck once again.

Daryl is now froze in place as the two staggering strangers slam their wet, bloody bodies against the hood of the truck, with their hands and fingers reaching out. They both claw and growl their way towards the passenger side of the truck.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to get the fuck out of here." Daryl says sliding away from his window closer to Chris with a push of his foot against the car door. "Now!"

The creatures press their faces against the window, biting at the air, bashing their fists against the glass, eyes fixated on the two helpless men inside.

"Please baby! Just go! Please!" Chris yells pleading with to his car as he pulls down on the clutch once again. "Yes!" The car moves forward into gear without the grinding.

BAM!

"Shit! Shit!"

Chris presses on the gas moving the truck just as another monstrosity slams itself against the driver side window leaving streaks of slime and blood as they drive off, with wheels squealing.


End file.
